Winter Solstice

HOME: Chapter 5

24th of December, 

Niall didn't prepare as much, but he left a letter by Rebeckah's place.

To Rebeckah,

This prose doesn't mean that I'm letting go of you, but may this serve as the symbol of our love.

You shall be free. I'm letting you go - my precious rose, stabbed with the dagger I hold. The wind blew and it reminded me, what love really meant, and that was what you taught me.

How can someone teach a person what true love is? Let me relive the days - those days that will forever hold me. New beginnings, new chances, a new life. As the leaves fall, we fall with them. As the sun rises, our love begins anew. And as April kicks in, I hope that I'll wake up to the thought of you. On the other side, the stars shine, and they shine brighter when I see them with you. As we go out together, creating rhythm and blues, my heart beats faster and it beats for you. What a beautiful December if I spend it with you.

But those days are gone. The days try to come back, but the doors are closed, and they are closed shut. I locked the doors and threw away the key. The key is forever gone but never are our memories.

Thousands of times I prayed for you to come back, but then I realized you never left my heart.

Love, Niall.

********

Niall never gets tired of visiting Rebeckah's resting place. He takes her out on a date every single year.

A campfire,

marshmallows,

the stars,

a guitar,

and his love.

That's their perfect date.

Although Niall never found out, Rebeckah uttered a few words while Niall was inside the house trying to get their jackets.

Rebeckah's last words were,

"You're the home I never had, Niall." 

She said that right before blankets of snow fell upon her.

(People were jealous of Rebeckah, she lived quite a wealthy life, she was pretty, she was nearly perfect. But she always has a line running on her mind; "People are jealous and they want to live the life I have but what they don't know is that I long for one thing they have...a home with a complete family inside.")

When Niall drove Rebeckah home on the first Christmas Eve they met, she wasn't really going home. She lied. She was from a broken family, that was why she never had one.

But during that moment when her eyes locked with Niall's, she knew she found her's.

But something stopped this from happening, and that was snow.

Speaking of snow,

Snow. A reason for a million people's happiness, yet a cause of one's defeat.

That's how Niall would usually describe snow, it's a love-hate feeling.

Why love?

Snow was the reason why Niall and Rebeckah met.

Why hate?

It's also the sole reason on why they separate hearts.

Niall, when asked, would usually also describe Rebeckah as his home,

"Home is where the heart is, and I get home every 24th of December."

What exactly is a home? when asked that, Niall would always say,

"Home is not just bounded by walls, but also by hearts who stand firm together."

Not rocks, not soil, not any material.

The foundation of every home is love.

And Niall and Rebeckah finds home whenever they're together.

12/24: Love happened, love was made, and love stayed.

When love happens, it can't be undone. Fate may try to destroy it but the essence of love remains.

That's the love that Niall and Rebeckah has proven.

A love forever written on a Winter Solstice's day.

(For us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prime of Peace. -Isaiah 9:6

Happy holidays, everyone!)